Japanese  Young  Men 
in  War  and  Peace 


By 

Galen  M.  Fisher 


Secretary  National  Union  of  the  Young  Men’s 


Christian  Associations  of 
Japan 


1 


I 


Published  by 

The  International  Committee 
of  Young  Men’s  Christian  Associations 
3 West  Twenty-ninth  Street 
New  York 


Fujiyama,  the  Peerless 


From  Stereograph,  Copyright  1904,  by  Underwood  & Underwood,  New  York 


Japanese  Young  Men 


Japanese  Attitude  Toward  Russia 

In  the  war  with  Russia,  Japan  has  made  such  a plucky, 
well-planned  fight  that  even  the  few  who  question  her  mo- 
tives are  compelled  to  admire  her  spirit  and  sagacity.  The 
Japanese  themselves,  to  a man,  believe  that  they  are  fighting 
the  world’s  battle  for  justice  and  liberty.  Premier  Count 
Katsura  recently  declared  : “With  differences  of  race  or 
religion  the  war  has  nothing  to  do.  It  is  carried  on  by 
Japan  in  the  interests  of  justice,  humanity,  and  the  com- 
merce and  civilization  of  the  world.  In  saying  this  I am 
not  speaking  as  an  individual  only ; I aVn  speaking  as  Prime 
Minister  also ; and  more  than  that  I am  expressing  the  mind 
of  His  Majesty,  the  Emperor.  It  may  be  said  that  such 
statements  are  diplomatic,  and  that  diplomatic  statements 
have  the  reputation  of  being  inscrutable.  But  this  is  not 
true  of  those  of  the  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United 
States;  and  there  is  no  evidence  that  it  is  true  of  those  of 
the  Prime  Minister  of  Japan.”  It  is  a noteworthy  fact 
that  every  one  of  the  eighteen  English  newspapers  pub- 
lished in  Hongkong,  China  and  Japan  has  corroborated  the 
Prime  Minister’s  declaration  by  espousing  the  cause  of 
Japan.  Furthermore,  the  missionaries  of  Japan,  China  and 
Korea,  with  rare  exceptions,  regard  Japan  as  a champion  of 
righteousness,  as  an  ally,  unconscious  as  yet,  in  the  Chris- 

3 


884 


tianization  of  the  East,  as  a Galahad  deserving  the  sympathy 
and  calling  for  the  increasing  cooperation  of  the  Christian 
West,  in  order  that  she  may  become  a conscious  and  more 
potent  agent  for  the  emancipation  of  her  neighbors. 

The  Japanese  declare  that  they  hate,  not  the  Russians, 
but  the  principles  the  Russian  Government  has  applied  in  the 
Far  East.  They  even  hope  that  the  war  may  help  to  liberal- 
ize and  purify  Russia.  When  the  Russian  battleship  Petro- 
pavlovsk  and  all  her  crew  were  destroyed  by  a mine,  the 
wife  of  the  Chief  of  the  Japanese  General  Staff,  in  tears, 
said  to  an  American  friend ; “Oh,  the  pity  of  it ! All  the 
wives  and  children  and  parents  bereft  by  it!”  A kindred 
spirit  moved  the  Empress  of  Japan  to  offer  artificial  limbs 
to  crippled  Russian  prisoners.  The  Japanese  Young  Men’s 
Christian  Association  has  procured  from  St.  Petersburg  a 
box  of  Russian  literature  to  give  to  Russian  prisoners. 

Patriotism  in  Action 

The  war  has  intensified  patriotism.  Mothers  gladly  give 
up  their  oldest  boys  to  go  to  the  deadly  firing  line.  School- 
boys are  fasting  once  a day  to  give  their  mites  to  the  war 
relief  funds.  Officials  throughout  the  country  have  seen 
from  one-tenth  to  one-fifth  of  their  salaries  lopped  off  into 
the  war  fund  and  not  a murmur  has  escaped  their  lips. 
Householders  gracefully  submit  to  having  soldiers  billeted 
upon  them  for  days  or  even  weeks.  Girls  and  women  knit 
day  after  day  to  make  socks,  mittens  and  ear  protectors 
against  the  bitter  Manchurian  winter.  The  war  is  begin- 
ning to  convince  the  West  that  the  Japanese  have  the  en- 
durance, the  sacrifice  and  the  courage  of  which  heroes  are 
made.  It  kindles  the  imagination  to  think  what  a power 
for  good  they  will  become  when  they  have  been  more 
deeply  touched  by  the  spirit  of  Christ. 


4 


Off  for  Manchuria 

From  Stereograph,  Copyright  1904,  by  Underwood  & Underwood,  New  York 

War  Minister  Welcomes  the  Association  in  the  Army 

A regiment  of  the  soldier  lads  in  trim  uniforms  just  start- 
ing for  the  front  is  a fine  sight.  But  before  they  have  em- 
barked from  Japan  and  again  upon  disembarking  in  Man- 
churia, they  will  have  to  pass  through  a fierce  fire  of  tempta- 
tion. The  harpies  of  vice  haunt  the  barracks  and  camps. 
The  sentiment  against  immorality  is  very  weak  among  both 
officers  and  privates,  and  when  off  duty  the  men  have  no 
other  attractive  way  to  pass  the  time.  Even  in  time  of 


5 


peace,  in  one  military  hospital,  one-third  of  all  cases  are 
venereal.  The  prohibitions  of  the  army  orders  have  proved 
ineffective.  But  just  here  the  Japanese  Young  Men’s 
Christian  Association  believes  it  has  a better  way — running 
out  vicious  attractions  with  wholesome  attractions.  With 
the  hearty  approval  of  the  Premier  and  of  the  Ministers  of 
War  and  the  Navy,  the  Association  representatives  in  Man- 
churia are  setting  up  tents  for  recreation,  correspondence, 
religious  and  patriotic  addresses,  and  general  headquarters 
for  the  soldiers.  There  are  already  several  strong  Japanese 
and  American  secretaries  in  charge  of  this  field  work,  but 
more  should  be  sent  out  soon. 


Significance  of  the  Work  Among  the  Soldiers 

The  tents,  supplies,  transportation  and  salaries  will  cost 
several  thousand  dollars.  Most  of  the  money  must  come  from 
America,  because  of  the  many  other  extraordinary  demands 
upon  benevolent  Japanese.  It  is  expected  that  the  success 
of  the  undertaking  during  the  war  will  lead  to  a permanent 
Army  Department  of  the  Young  Men’s  Christian  Associa- 
tion in  Japan,  calling  for  special  secretaries,  funds  and 
equipm.ent.  The  work  already  undertaken  will  be  of  in- 
calculable help  to  the  Christianization  of  Japan  in  two 
ways : directly,  by  improving  the  character  and  efficiency 
of  the  soldiers ; indirectly,  by  inclining  the  higher  officers 
favorably  toward  Christianity,  and  by  dispelling  the  ignorant 
prejudice  against  Christianity  in  the  minds  of  the  peasant 
lads  who  form  the  bulk  of  the  army.  These  two  classes, 
the  peasants  and  the  higher  officers  and  nobles,  have  been 
comparatively  untouched  by  Christianity.  It  is  therefore  the 
greatest  single  opportunity  opened  to  friends  of  Japan  by 
the  war. 


6 


Mile-Posts  of  Progress 


This  vigorous  entrance  into  effort  among  soldiers  was 
possible  because  the  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association  was 
on  the  ground  with  workers,  prestige  and  backing.  The 
rise  of  the  Association  to  its  present  status  may  be  sum- 
marized thus : 

In  1889  Mr.  J.  T.  Swift,  who  had  been  teaching  in  a gov- 
ernment school  in  Tokyo  for  a year,  returned  to  America 
and  urged  the  American  Associations  to  extend  their  ac- 
tivity to  Japan.  Mr.  Swift’s  appeal,  seconded  by  influential 
Japanese  and  by  missionaries,  resulted  in  his  being  sent  back 
by  the  International  Committee  as  the  pioneer  secretary. 
He  was  soon  joined  by  Mr.  S.  Niwa,  who  has  ably  served 
the  Tokyo  Association  for  the  past  fourteen  years.  The 
policy  has  been  to  build  up  strong  Associations  at  a few  im- 
portant points,  to  raise  up  trained  Japanese  secretaries  and 
to  send  from  America  only  as  many  men  and  as  much 
money  as  would  make  possible  a firm  and  self-supporting 
movement.  The  result  has  been  that  there  are  now  as 
many  Japanese  as  American  secretaries  (six  of  each)  ; the 
National  Union  embraces  sixty-two  Associations  with  a to- 
tal of  2,900  members ; and  the  public  in  both  America  and 
Japan  has  shown  its  confidence  by  giving  $75,000  for  build- 
ings in  six  cities.  The  late  Hon.  Alfred  E.  Buck,  American 
Minister  to  Japan,  1897-1902,  said  of  the  Tokyo  Young 
Men’s  Christian  Association  building:  “There  is  perhaps 
no  building  in  Tokyo  that  stands  more  prominently  as  an 
index  of  organized  Christianity  than  that  of  the  Young 
Men’s  Christian  Association.” 

Japanese  Self-Reliance 

The  American  International  Committee  has  no  authority 
over  the  Japanese  National  Committee,  but  its  fostering 


7 


A National  Conference  of  Leaders— The  Tokyo  Building 


care  and  its  contributions  of  secretaries,  methods  and 
money  have,  according  to  the  Japanese  themselves,  been  in- 
dispensable during  the  formative  period.  The  settled  policy 
of  the  International  Committee,  to  throw  the  Japanese  as 
fast  as  possible  upon  their  own  resources  in  secretaries  and 
in  finance,  has  been  justified  by  results.  The  number  of 
Japanese  secretaries  has  increased  from  two  to  six  within 
the  past  two  years.  The  Tokyo  Association  raises  $1,700  a 
year  in  Japan,  the  largest  budget  probably  of  any  religious 
institution  in  the  Empire.  At  the  present  time,  the  total 
expense  of  the  local  and  national  work  is  over  $5,500,  and 
only  one-sixth  of  this  amount  comes  from  America. 

The  supervision  of  the  National  Union  is  in  the  hands  of 
a representative  committee  of  twenty-three  Japanese  busi- 
ness and  professional  men  and  students,  and  five  American 
and  British  missionaries.  The  unifying  influence  of  the  As- 
sociation is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  committee  in- 
cludes leading  Baptists,  Congregationalists,  Episcopalians, 
Methodists  and  Presbyterians.  The  committee  arranges 
national  and  district  conventions,  sends  its  two  traveling 
secretaries  to  visit  each  of  the  more  than  sixty  Associations 
at  least  once  every  year,  plans  lecturing  and  evangelistic 
tours  by  eminent  speakers,  and  forms  the  connecting  link 
between  the  young  men  of  Japan  and  the  world-encircling 
chain  of  the  Association  brotherhood. 


The  City  the  Storm  Center 

The  vortex  of  Japanese  life  is  in  the  cities.  The  cities 
are  growing  fourteen  times  as  rapidly  as  the  national 
population,  and  a large  percentage  of  this  growth  is  due  to 
the  influx  of  young  men.  Japanese  cities  are  called  upon 


9 


to  assimilate  this  great,  crude  mass,  and  they  have  next  to 
no  facilities  for  asepticizing,  peptonizing  and  digesting  it. 

In  other  words,  the  forces  that  make  for  manhood  in 
America — strong  churches,  clean  amusements  and  sports, 
free  libraries,  well-equipped  Young  Men’s  Christian  Asso- 
ciations, the  open  homes  of  good  people — are  almost  en- 
tirely lacking  in  Japan.  Here  is  evidence  enough  of  the 
need  of  the  city  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association.  So 
impartial  a judge  and  so  large  an  employer  of  young 
men  as  Baron  Shibusawa,  the  J.  Pierpont  Morgan  of 
Japan,  said:  “I  believe  that  by  its  broad  and  practical 
methods  the  Association  can  accomplish  a work  that  no 
other  organization  is  doing,  and  that  it  deserves  the 
hearty  support  of  business  men  and  of  all  interested  in  the 
welfare  of  young  men.”  Responding  to  such  confidence, 
and  to  the  united  appeals  of  missionaries  and  Japanese 
Christians,  the  Association  has  already  taken  root  at  Tokyo 
(1,800.000),  the  Berlin  of  the  Empire;  at  Osaka  (1,000,000), 
the  Japanese  Chicago  and  Pittsburg;  at  Kyoto  (350,000),  a 
Buddhist  Rome;  at  Kobe,  Yokohama  and  Nagasaki,  ports 
like  Boston  or  Baltimore:  and  at  Nagoya  and  Okayama, 
commanding  inland  centers. 

Inside  the  Tokyo  Association 

With  meager  equipment  and  in  face  of  heavy  obstacles 
a strong  work  has  been  built  up  in  these  cities.  For  ex- 
ample, if  one  should  enter  the  Tokyo  Association  building 
almost  any  afternoon  or  evening,  he  would  find  a busy 
crowd  of  kimonoed  and  foreign  dressed  clerks,  business 
men,  and  students, — here  a group  around  the  game  tables, 
and  there  another  group  reading  Japanese  and  English 
papers  and  magazines,  and  from  the  parlor  v/ould  come  the 
sound  of  a class  learning  English  hymns,  or  studying  the 


10 


Bible  Class  of  Japan  Mail  S.  S.  Company  Employees 

Bible.  Upstairs  would  be  found  a hundred  men  mastering 
the  irregularities  of  our  mother-tongue.  And  on  Satur- 
day, in  the  auditorium,  the  finest  in  the  city,  would  be  seen 
several  hundred  men  listening  to  an  eminent  lecturer  or  to 
a concert  of  half  western,  half  Japanese  music.  On  Sun- 
day the  same  auditorium  would  be  found  in  use  for  an 
apologetic  or  evangelistic  address  by  the  best  Christian 
speakers  in  the  city.  Dr.  D.  C.  Greene  has  characterized 
these  Saturday  and  Sunday  addresses  as  the  most  notable 
gatherings  for  young  men  in  the  capital.  Bible  study  cir- 
cles and  inquiry  groups  would  be  found  before  or  after  the 


11 


addresses  on  both  days,  and  through  them  men  are  con- 
stantly being  led  from  doubt  and  defeat  to  faith  and  vic- 
tory and  affiliation  with  the  Church  of  Christ.  In  brief, 
the  Association  buildings  in  Tokyo,  Osaka,  Kobe,  Kyoto, 
and  other  cities  are  Christian  club  houses  run  by  young 
men  for  young  men.  Student  and  professor,  employer  and 
employee  find  there  on  a common  footing  the  friendship, 
the  recreation,  the  instruction  or  the  inspiration  that  they 
crave. 


As  Seen  by  Men  of  Affairs 

The  substantial  character  of  the  activity  of  the  Associa- 
tion has  commended  it  even  to  cautious  non-Christian 
men  of  wealth,  as  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  last  year  three 
of  the  largest  firms  in  the  country  contributed  liberally  to 
its  support.  Equally  striking  is  the  fact  that  a millionaire 
having  no  connection  with  Christianity  offered  to  give  as 
high  as  $2,500  for  an  Association  building,  if  other  citi- 
zens would  give  $1,250.  Count  Okuma,  educator,  formerly 
Premier  and  Minister  of  Finance,  said  recently:  “I  hope 
that  young  men  will  more  and  more  take  advantage  of  the 
opportunities  for  religious,  social,  intellectual  and  physical 
improvement  which  your  Association  affords.”  Even  in 
conservative  Kyoto,  the  chairman  of  the  municipal  council 
and  a member  of  parliament,  both  shrewd  business  men, 
have  led  the  agitation  for  a building  for  the  Association. 

Cost  of  Buildings  for  an  Empire 

It  is  in  face  of  such  need  and  such  confidence  that  the 
Associations  in  every  one  of  the  large  cities  find  one  hand 
tied  for  lack  of  proper  buildings.  The  whole  sum  needed 
is  less  than  the  amount  often  put  into  a building  for  a 


12 


Christian  Association  in  an  American  or  British  city  of 
100,000.  America  and  Britain  need  all  the  fine  buildings 
they  have,  but  surely  $145,000  cannot  be  deemed  extrav- 
agant for  the  equipment  of  eight  of  the  chief  cities  of  an 
Empire.  A carefully  pruned  statement  of  the  amounts 
needed  in  the  near  future  is  as  follows : 


Kyoto,  for  building,  $25,000 

Kobe,  for  building,  25,000 

Osaka,  for  remodeling  and  additions,  25,000 

Nagasaki,  for  balance  of  building  fund  of 

$16,000,  5,000 

Tokyo,  for  additions  for  gymnasium  and 

boys’  department,  25,000 

Yokohama,  for  building,  20,000 

Okayama,  for  building,  10,000 

Nagoya,  for  building,  10,000 


$145,000 


Eminent  Leaders 


A guarantee  of  the  permanence  of  the  work  already 
established  is  the  character  of  the  Japanese  who  are  at  the 
head  of  it.  Few,  if  any,  other  enterprises  are  directed  by 
men  of  higher  character  than  the  Association  movement. 
The  presidency  of  the  Tokyo  Association,  for  example,  has 
been  held  by  Chief  Justice  Miyoshi,  by  Admiral  Serata  of 
the  Imperial  Navy,  and  by  Hon  K.  Kataoka,  four  times 
Speaker  of  the  Lower  House  of  Parliament.  At  present, 
Hon.  S.  Ebara,  a Member  of  Parliament  and  a successful 
educator,  fills  the  office.  The  Chairman  of  the  National 
Union,  President  Y.  Honda,  is  at  the  head  of  a Christian 
college,  and  he  is  supported  by  four  vice-chairmen  dis- 
tinguished in  educational  or  religious  circles. 


13 


DENSITY  or 


r4tjf^&E.R  OF  Stude-Mt  BoARoii^c Housed 


STUDENTS. n 


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STUDENT  POPULATiON  IN  TOKYO 

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C3  Y.M.C.A  Student  B'oc. Houses. 
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102 


The  Gibraltar  of  Christianity  in  Japan 


14 


Japanese  Limitations 


The  local  boards  of  directors  are  composed  of  busy  law- 
yers, business  men,  and  educators,  but  they  cheerfully 
give  time  and  expert  attention  to  the  financial  and  re- 
ligious problems  of  the  work.  What  they  cannot  give  is 
large  amounts  of  money,  for  they  are  comparatively  poor, 
and  the  drain  of  the  war  added  to  the  support  of  the 
Church  makes  it  impossible  for  them  to  do  more  than  pay 
for  the  running  expenses  of  Associations  and  for  the  land 
on  which  to  erect  buildings.  The  funds  for  buildings  they 
give  brothers  in  America  the  privilege  of  contributing. 

Students,  Their  Power  and  Perils 

The  buildings  referred  to  above  are  chiefly  intended  to 
provide  a base  of  operations  among  young  men  in  business 
or  industrial  pursuits.  Another  class,  smaller  but  of 
equal  importance,  is  the  students.  Even  so  long  ago  as 
1879,  President  Grant,  while  visiting  Japan,  declared  that 
as  a system  the  Japanese  schools  were  the  best  in  the  world. 
The  past  thirty  years  have  brought  great  advances,  so 
that  in  1900  the  percentage  of  attendance  to  children  of 
school  age  was  81  as  against  68.93  in  the  United  States. 
But  the  flower  of  the  nation  is  the  240,000  young  men  in 
the  high  schools  and  colleges.  They  will  be  the  captains 
of  Japan’s  political,  moral  and  intellectual  life.  President 
Ibuka  has  stated  that  within  ten  years  ninety  per  cent,  of 
the  positions  of  influence  in  the  country  will  be  held  by 
graduates  of  higher  schools.  John  R.  Mott  declares  that 
the  student  body  of  Japan  “is  likely  to  play  a larger  part 
in  our  generation  than  the  students  of  any  other  country 
in  the  Orient No  students  are  so  eclectic  or  cosmo- 
politan  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  as  go  the  gov- 


ts 


ernment  schools  of  Japan  so  goes  Japan.”  They  are 
marked  men : society  offers  them  power ; the  forces  of 
evil  concentrate  their  fire  upon  them.  The  higher  schools 
are  all  in  the  large  cities,  and  hence  tens  of  thousands  of 
students  are  compelled  to  leave  home  and  live  in  lodging 
houses,  too  often  gateways  to  vice.  Obscene  story  tellers, 
dancing  girls,  low  theaters,  and  houses  where  vice  is  cheap 
and  “safe”  lure  them  to  right  and  left.  They  must  have 
recreation  and  amusement  and  companionship,  but  the 
clean  club,  the  institutional  church  and  even  the  society  of 
good  women  are  denied  these  young  fellows  away  from 
home.  Old  anchors  of  religion,  whether  Buddhist  or  Con- 
fucian,  have  been  cast  off : a census  of  409  students  in 
three  schools  showed  that  only  twenty-one,  or  five  per  cent, 
acknowledged  any  faith,  and  of  these  fifteen  were  Bud- 
dhist, one  Confucian,  one  Shintoist,  and  four  Christian. 
Sowing  wild  oats  is  the  common  thing  to  do.  The  prin- 
cipal of  a large  normal  school  said,  not  long  ago,  that  he 
not  only  patronized  houses  of  ill  fame  himself,  but  that 
he  advised  all  his  teachers  to  do  so,  and  that  he  even  gave 
them  tickets,  so  that,  at  the  end  of  each  month,  all  the 
hills  would  be  sent  to  him  for  payment,  and  deducted  from 
their  salaries.  It  is  therefore  small  wonder  that  man  after 
man  yields  to  the  temptation  of  his  own  passions  within 
and  to  the  seductions  of  evil  men  and  women  without,  to 
liesmirch  himself  in  the  mire.  But  the  most  encouraging 
fact  is  that  these  students  are  so  anxious  to  seize  chances 
of  wholesome  recreation  and  companionship.  It  would  be 
hard  to  find  anywhere  a more  accessible,  responsive  body  of 
240,000  men. 

The  Way  Out 

It  is  with  a clear  realization  of  all  these  conditions  that 
the  students  themselves  have  taken  the  initiative  and  chosen 


i(i 


the  student  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association  as  the  provi- 
dential agency  through  which  to  cope  with  these  evil  forces 
and  accomplish  the  regeneration  of  the  educated  classes. 
Its  genius  is  to  work  from  within  like  leaven,  not  from 
without  like  a jack-screw.  It  is  composed  of  1,500  stu- 
dents in  fifty-four  different  institutions,  whose  aim  is  to 
bring  the  life  and  teachings  of  Jesus  to  bear  upon  the 
temptations  and  ambitions  of  themsehcs  and  their  fellow 
students.  An  eminent  educator,  while  holding  the  folio  of 
Minister  of  State  for  Education,  declared:  “Your  Student 
Christian  Association  is  a good  movement ; indeed,  I do 
not  see  how  the  moral  and  religious  conditions  of  our  stu- 
dents can  be  met  without  such  an  organization.”  These 
student  Associations  are  cooperating  in  many  ways  with  the 
eight  city  Associations  for  the  commercial  classes,  with 
whom  they  are  bound  into  one  National  Union.  The  study 
of  the  Bible  is  magnified,  and  goo  students  are  enrolled 
in  weekly  classes ; evangelistic  and  social  departments  are 
active  and  successful.  But  they  find  that  the  peculiar  con- 
ditions of  students  call  for  special  adaptations.  The  out- 
standing need  of  students  in  the  large  cities  of  Japan  is  for 
the  things  that  “home”  signifies  to  us, — sociability,  re- 
laxation, ownership,  woman’s  influence,  friendship  and  wor- 
ship. 

Value  of  Christian  Student  Clubs 

The  homes  established  by  the  student  Christian  Asso- 
ciations are  dormitory,  reading  and  recreation  and  meeting 
place  all  combined,  a sort  of  Christian  college  settlement. 
Thirteen  homes  have  already  been  opened  as  a small  be- 
ginning. They  have  been  almost  without  exception  self- 
supporting,  and  have  met  just  the  need  for  which  they 
were  intended.  In  one  case  the  Association  home  drew  this 
endorsement  from  the  president  and  dean  of  the  college. 


17 


The_First  Christian  Student  Club-house  in  Osaka 


neither  of  them  a Christian : “We  consider  the  Association 
one  of  the  most  useful  organizations  among  our  teachers 
and  students,  and  testify  that  its  moral  influence  is  being 
felt  among  the  student  body.”  The  urgent  demand  now  is 
for  the  multiplication  of  such  homes.  One  Association 
has  made  such  a success  of  its  home,  in  a tumble-down 
house  accommodating  only  seven  men,  that  a professor  in 
the  college  made  this  appeal  for  a new,  larger  house : “The 
Association  has  already  accomplished  much,  but  to  make  it 
more  effective  we  must  have  a hall,  with  an  auditorium, 
and  a dormitory  to  accommodate  at  least  thirty  or  forty 
young  men.  A dormitory  under  Christian  influence  is  not 
only  one  of  the  most  effective  means  of  leading  young 
men  to  Christ  and  building  up  Christian  characters,  but 
the  most  urgent  need  of  the  students  in  Japan.”  Mission- 
aries, as  well  as  Japanese,  of  nearly  every  denomination 
have  put  themselves  on  record  that  there  is  great  need  for 
homes  and  that  the  Association  is  the  best  agency  to 
establish  them.  One  missionary,  after  fifteen  years’  ob- 
servation, wrote  us : “I  consider  the  scheme  an  excellent 
one,  and  think  that  much  [not  all]  of  what  was  formerly 
attempted  in  mission  schools  can  now  be  as  well  or  better 
accomplished  by  boarding  houses  filled  with  students  of 
government  schools  and  run  under  Christian  management.” 

Small  Investments:  Large  Returns 

The  cost  of  erecting  a home  accommodating  from  twenty- 
five  to  forty  is  from  $2,000  to  $4,000.  After  erection  each 
home  will  pay  its  own  running  expenses  from  the  dor- 
mitory rentals,  so  that  an  investment  of  two  or  three  thou- 
sand dollars  will  give  a home  to  generation  after  generation 
of  students,  and  will  provide  a center  of  Christian  activity 
in  a college  or  group  of  colleges.  One  would  search  long 


19 


Association  Building,  Imperial  University,  Tokyo 


to  find  another  non-assessable  investment  of  $2,500  yielding 
such  quick  and  large  and  continuous  returns.  One  home  in 
Osaka  within  a year  resulted  in  five  out  of  thirteen  lodgers 
becoming  Christians  and  in  the  formation  of  student  Chris- 
tian Associations  in  two  colleges.  The  number  of  homes 
that  can  be  filled  and  well  managed  is  not  less  than  thirty 
in  the  next  five  years.  Tokyo  with  its  47,000  students,  of 
whom  30,000  live  in  2,000  more  or  less  immoral  board- 
ing houses,  Kyoto,  Osaka,  Kobe,  Kumamoto,  and  the  other 
ten  or  twelve  cities  having  large  numbers  of  governmental 
college  students  call  for  twenty  homes  in  the  next  three 
years.  In  nearly  every  case  the  Christian  students  them- 
selves will  secure  the  money  for  the  lot.  But  without  gifts 
from  friends  in  America,  the  erection  of  homes,  as  of  city 
Association  buildings,  must  be  left  undone. 

Gifts  Safeguarded 

Property  given  to  the  Japanese  Associations  will  be  se- 
curely held  in  trust.  The  Tokyo  Association  is  already  in- 
corporated as  a trust,  pledged  to  use  its  property  forever  for 
the  spiritual,  mental  and  physical  welfare  of  young  men 
according  to  the  principles  of  evangelical  Christianity. 
Henceforth,  every  other  Association  receiving  gifts  through 
the  International  Committee  will  embody  the  same  safe- 
guard in  its  articles  of  incorporation. 

Literature  as  an  Auxiliary 

There  are  several  valuable  methods  of  influencing  young 
men  which  do  not  depend  upon  having  a home  or  building. 
One  of  these  is  the  publication  of  well-written  books.  The 
Association  is  following  the  American  and  British  pre- 
cedent in  issuing  text-books  for  the  study  of  the  Bible.  It 
has  also  reached  a large  audience  through  the  biographies 


21 


of  great  Christians  like  Chinese  Gordon,  .David  Living- 
stone, Henry  Drummond  and  Phillips  Brooks.  Evangelis- 
tic and  devotional  literature,  particularly  intended  for 
young  men,  like  the  writings  of  John  R.  Mott,  H.  Clay 
Trumbull  and  K.  Uchimura,  has  lodged  truth  where  the 
preacher’s  voice  never  penetrates. 

The  Association  Nominates  Government  Teachers 

Another  significant  development  is  the  supplying  of 
American  college  graduates  to  teach  English  in  Japanese 
government  schools.  The  request  came  unsought  to  the 
secretaries  of  the  International  Committee  in  Japan,  and 
they  have  of  course  taken  pains  to  secure  men  who  unite 
positive  Christian  character  with  teaching  ability.  The 
demand  for  men  has  grown  until  now  twenty-one  schools 
are  kept  supplied.  The  influence  of  these  “Association 
teachers’’  can  scarcely  be  overestimated.  Their  earnestness 
and  sympathy  have  increased  the  high  regard  in  which 
teachers  have  always  been  held  in  Japan  until  they  have  a 
unique  hold  on  the  hearts  of  their  students.  There  is  no 
hindrance  put  in  the  way  of  their  holding  Bible  classes  and 
doing  other  Christian  work  out  of  school  hours.  The  result 
is  there  are  twenty-one  auxiliary  secretaries,  as  it  were, 
whose  salaries  are  paid  from  the  public  treasury.  They  are 
teaching  300  men  in  Bible  circles  at  their  homes  every 
week,  and  their  influence  in  breaking  down  prejudice 
among  students  and  the  people  at  large  is  incalculable.  In 
two  rigidly  anti-Christian  towns  their  life  and  teaching 
have  resulted  in  one  case  in  the  founding  of  a church,  and 
in  the  other  in  the  conversion  of  several  students.  In  the 
words  of  Dr.  DeForest  in  his  “Sunrise  in  the  Sunrise  King- 
dom,” this  plan  may  be  called  “a  unique  phase  of  work 
which  is  having  great  success.” 


22 


Salient  Results  of  Seven  Years 


A survey  of  the  period  since  1896,  when  the  movement, 
under  the  stimulus  of  Mr.  Mott’s  visit,  began  to  assume 
national  scope,  shows  that : 

The  number  of  student  Associations  has  grown  from 
eight  to  fifty-four,  and  their  membership  from  about  250  to 
1,500.  Then  there  was  one  active  city  Association  with 
500  members;  now  there  are  eight  with  1,400  members. 
In  1903  the  city  and  student  Associations  combined  to 
form  the  National  Union. 

The  government  and  non-Christian  schools  may  be  called 
the  Gibraltar  of  Christianity  in  Japan.  In  1896  there  were 
five  Associations  in  such  schools ; to-day  there  are  over 
forty. 

The  ignorance  and  indifference  of  1896  toward  Christian 
student  movements  in  other  lands  have  been  replaced  by 
an  Interest  so  keen  that  the  Japanese  Union  will  in  1906  be 
the  host  of  the  World’s  Student  Christian  Federation. 

Bible  study  is  a fair  thermometer  of  Association  progress. 
The  average  attendance  at  classes  has  grown  from  about 
ISO  to  over  1,000. 

Evangelistic  lectures  managed  by  students  were  then  few 
and  spasmodic;  now  they  are  held  frequently  by  most  of 
the  Associations.  The  evangelistic  campaigns  conducted  by 
the  secretaries  and  leaders  of  the  movement  in  response  to 
an  eager  demand  from  young  men  are  having  a far-reaching 
influence.  Coupled  with  this  is  an  emphasis  upon  individual 
work  for  individuals  which  is  leading  inquirers  constantly 
into  discipleship. 

It  is  this  movement  which  made  possible  the  remarkable 
evangelistic  meetings  of  Mr.  Mott  in  1901,  which  resulted 
in  1,100  students  becoming  earnest  inquirers  and  in  250  of 


23 


these  joining  the  church.  To  conserve  and  extend  Mr. 
Mott’s  work  ten  of  the  best  speakers  obtainable  were  sent 
to  important  points  for  series  of  meetings. 

Christian  student  homes  under  Association  management 
now  number  thirteen  as  against  four  then. 


The  Association  Secretaries  in  Japan 

In  1896  the  Tokyo  city  Association  received  $500  from 
America.  Since  1902  it  has  raised  its  budget  of  over  $1,500 
entirely  in  Japan.  The  amount  contributed  in  Japan  for 
national  supervision  has  grown  from  nothing  in  1896  and 
$45  in  1898,  to  $600  in  1903. 

The  Student  Summer  Conference  has  been  changed  from 
a school  of  negative  ethical  and  religious  discussion  to  a 
positive  factor  in  Christian  thought  and  training. 


24 


The  number  of  American  Christian  teachers  of  English 
in  non-Christian  schools  has  increased  through  the  agency 
of  the  Association  from  five  to  twenty-five. 

In  1896  only  one  Japanese  was  devoting  his  life  to 
Christian  work  in  the  secretaryship;  now  there  are  six,  and 
several  more  are  in  training. 

The  United  Missionary  Judgment 

Six  hundred  missionaries  of  all  denominations  gathered 
at  the  National  Missionary  Conference  at  Tokyo  in  igoo 
adopted  this  resolution : 

Whereas  young  men  in  Japan  occupy  a position  of  in- 
creasing importance,  and 

Whereas  there  is  need  for  special  effort  to  unite  young 
men  in  Christian  work  by  and  for  young  men,  and 

Whereas  the  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association,  both 
in  the  West  and  in  Japan,  has  successfully  faced  this  need 
and  has  conducted  its  work  in  harmony  with  and  as  an 
agency  of  the  Church  of  Christ, 

Be  it  resolved,  That  we  commend  its  efforts  in  the 
schools  and  cities  of  Japan,  and  shall  welcome  a wise  ex- 
tension on  a scale  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  young  men 
and  to  the  strength  of  the  Christian  Church  in  Japan. 

Japan’s  Crisis  America’s  Opportunity 

One  cannot  but  be  moved  to  gratitude  by  the  above 
record.  But  rather  than  stop  to  congratulate  themselves, 
the  Associations  feel  driven  on  to  overtake  the  tremen- 
dous needs  that  loom  ahead.  The  student  and  commercial 
classes  have  only  been  touched  on  the  fringe.  The  railroad 
men,  skilled  laborers,  government  employees,  and  boys  are 


25 


utterly  untouched.  The  urgency  of  prompt  extension 
becomes  more  apparent  when  one  stops  to  consider  the 
present  moral  crisis  in  Japan. 

To  a man  reared  in  America,  where,  in  spite  of  some  un- 
belief and  more  religious  indifference,  Christian  principles 
penetrate  the  whole  warp  and  woof  of  society  at  large,  it 
may  be  difficult  to  grasp  the  moral  condition  of  Japan. 
Thirty  years  ago  the  moral  restraints  of  the  feudal  order 
were  struck  off  at  a blow.  Since  then  young  men,  espe- 
cially the  educated,  who  have  come  under  the  spell  of  the 
individualism  of  the  West,  have  swung  loose  from  all  re- 
ligion and  into  moral  license.  This  tendency  has  been  ag- 
gravated by  the  specious  doctrines  of  a few  eminent  men 
like  Marquis  Ito,  and  Dr.  Kato,  ex-President  of  the  Im- 
perial University,  who  maintain  that  religion  is  a super- 
stition to  be  spurned  by  the  educated,  and  that  personal 
immorality  is  not  only  harmless,  but  to  be  encouraged 
among  young  men. 

Japan’s  most  imminent  peril — the  real  yellow  peril — is 
that  she  shall  attempt  to  rear  a great  industrial  and  edu- 
cational and  military  superstructure  of  national  greatness 
upon  a foundation  of  individuals  who  are  morally  un- 
sound and  adrift.  Japanese  statesmen  and  reformers  are 
realizing  it  on  every  hand,  but  they  are  at  a loss  to  avert 
the  danger.  Some  few,  beside  the  Christians,  are  be- 
ginning to  see  that  their  only  hope  is  Christianity.  Of 
these  is  the  honored  former  Postmaster  General,  Baron 
Maejima,  himself  a Buddhist  and  Confucianist  by  upbring- 
ing, who  says:  “We  must  rely  upon  religion  for  our 
highest  welfare;  and  when  I look  about  me  to  see  what 
religion,  I am  convinced  that  the  religion  of  Christ  is  the 
one  most  full  of  strength  and  of  promise  for  the  individual 
and  for  the  nation.  The  Young  Men’s  Christian  Associa- 
tion has,  therefore,  my  fullest  sympathy.”  Confronted  by 


26 


such  a crisis  in  the  life  of  a splendid  people  and  given  the 
fullest  freedom  of  action,  the  Young  Men’s  Christian  As- 
sociations of  America  would  be  recreant  to  a sacred  trust 
if  they  and  their  supporters  did  not  help  the  young  men  of 
Japan  to  give  their  countrymen  living,  practical  Chris- 
tianity. 

There  is  more  at  stake  than  the  destiny  of  Japan,  mo- 
mentous as  that  is.  Japan  is  the  rudder  of  the  Far  East. 
Whether  she  shall  guide  Korea  and  China  to  the  path  of 
true  civilization  depends  upon  the  promptness  and  the 
thoroughness  of  her  own  Christianization.  Korea  is  al- 
ready plastic  in  the  hand  of  Japan;  China  is  summoning 
scores  of  Japanese  engineers,  diplomatic  and  military  ad- 
visers, and  hundreds  more  are  going  of  their  own  accord 
to  enter  business  in  China.  It  is  not  without  significance 
that  a school  to  teach  Japanese  youths  Chinese  is  founded 
in  Shanghai,  or  that  900  mature  Chinese  students,  chosen 
largely  from  the  official  class,  are  studying  the  arts  and 
sciences  and  the  Japanese  government  and  army  system  in 
Tokyo.  One  of  the  most  economical  ways  to  modernize 
and  Christianize  China  and  forever  banish  the  yellow  peril 
in  that  Empire  is  to  bring  the  young  men  of  Japan  rapidly 
and  thoroughly  under  the  sway  of  Christ.  Japan  is  harden- 
ing in  the  mold  of  materialism  with  alarming  rapidity. 
What  we  do,  we  must  dO’  quickly.  If  the  Christianization 
of  Japan  and  her  upbuilding  in  the  principles  and  institu- 
tions of  a Christian  nation  are  not  pressed  with  mani- 
fold more  energy  than  at  present,  it  will  mean  that  the 
final  triumph  of  righteousness  in  her  and  in  the  whole 
Far  East  will  only  be  achieved  at  a fearful  cost  in  time 
and  treasure  and  men. 


27 


Foreign  Department  of  the  Interna- 
tional Committee  Of  Young  Men’s 
Christian  Associations 


COMMITTEE 

WILLIAM  D.  Murray,  Chairman' 

Prederick.B.  SchencK,  Treasurer  , , 

Cleveland  H.  Dodge  Frank  K.  Sanders 

William  F.  McDowell  Noah  C.,  Rogers 

H.  B.  F,  MacfarlaNd  E.  ,W.  Halford 

Jo3h.ua  levering 

SECRETARIES 

John  R.  Mott,  General  Adminstration 
P.  Andersen  . E.  T.  Colton 

’ Associate  Secretary  Associate  Secretary 


FOREIGN  MAIL 

V 

Published  in  the  interests  of  the  Foreign  Department  of  the 
International  Committee  of  Young  Men’s  Christian  AssociatioijS. 

Issued  Quarterly,  in  January,  April,  July  and  October.  Price 
5 cents  per  copy;  20  cents  a year  for  single  subscriptions;  10  cents 
in  clubs  of  ten  or  more.  Address  all  communications  to  Editoi- 
Foreign  Mail.,  3 West  Twenty-Ninth  Street,  New  York  City.  , 


